Abby Pence enjoys writing on the dark side of fiction, focusing on places, families, and characters trying to survive both the unexplainable and the unimaginable.

Her debut novel, Sketch, follows a young Central Florida artist whose drawings let her watch people from afar—until missing girls, family secrets, and something darker start to watch back.

Abby practically fell out of the womb with a Stephen King novel in her hand and has been an avid reader ever since. Although the darker side of fiction is her jam, she reads all over the place—horror, thrillers, literary fiction, science fiction, and romance—but she’s mostly drawn to stories with atmosphere, tension, and layered, complex characters.

A finalist in the 2019 Royal Palm Literary Awards and a longtime member of the Florida Writers Association, Abby finds endless inspiration in Central Florida: the dazzling water, the ancient, shuddering trees, the oppressive heat, and the occasional certainty that something is lurking in the shadows.

When she’s not writing, she’s usually hanging out on the golf cart or boat with a cold beer and her favorite people, snuggling with her three dogs, or checking backyard bird cam footage obsessively.